THE country may be in lockdown, but that has not stopped Leigh Hadfield from winning a national archery competition.

Hadfield, who shoots for the Winnington Park Bowmen club, came out on top in an innovative tournament run by Archery GB, the sport's governing body in this country.

With most competitions put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, archers were invited to take part in the competition via postal entries.

Entrants were required to shoot a Short Metric round – 36 arrows shot at an 80cm target 50 metres away before shooting another 36 from a 30-metre distance – in the presence of a field captain from their club before submitting their scores.

Amongst a field of 63 archers from all over the country, Hadfield's score of 652 from a possible 720 was enough to see him secure first place and a notable national achievement under the Winnington Park Bowmen banner.

Northwich Guardian:

It is the latest success in a superb year for Hadfield, who has recorded a string of personal bests and club records of late.

In October, he finished second in the men's recurve at the Northern Counties Virtual Archery competition having become Cheshire champion in August.

With the current national lockdown, Winnington Park Bowmen's ranges at Moss Farm are currently silent.

However, the club's archers are using the time at home to work on their technical prep and fitness without their bows to ensure they are ready for their next event.